USA > Pennsylvania > Washington County > History of Washington County : from its first settlement to the present time, first under Virginia as Yohogania, Ohio, or Augusta County until 1781, and subsequently under Pennsylvania > Part 18
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Resolved, That a committee consisting of Rev. Dr. James I. Brownson, Hon. R. R. Reed, and William S. Moore, be appointed to co-operate with the Alumni of Jefferson College in calling a convention, and to take such other action as in their judgment may be proper to further the proposed object.
The call for the convention read thus :-
To the Alumni of Jefferson and Washington colleges :-
The undersigned, representing jointly, though unofficially, the Alumni of Jefferson and Washington colleges, and believing that they express a wish very common, if not universal among the sons of the colleges, do hereby in- vite their brethren, the alumni of both, to meet in convention at the city of Pittsburg, on Tuesday, the 27th day of September inst., at 4 o'clock P.M., in the lecture room of the First Presbyterian church, to take such action as may be deemed advisable to further the consolidation of the two colleges. It is earnestly hoped that all the alumni, who possibly can, will be present at the proposed convention, as it is believed that the question of union will probably be decided within the next few weeks.
On behalf of Jefferson College .- Boyd Crumrine, Francis J. Collier, Alonzo Linn, D. A. French, James G. Dickson, A. C. MeClelland, David Mckinney, Robert P. Nevin, A. Williams, Thomas Ewing, J. P. Penney, John M. Kirkpatrick, Jacob H. Miller, James P. Sterritt, John M. Ken- nedy, James J. Kuhn, W. G. Hawkins, Jr., T. J. Bigham, Algernon C. Bell, David W. Bell, James Veech, James Allison, and R. Patterson.
On behalf of Washington College .- James I. Brownson, William S .. Moore, Thomas McKennan, John H. Ewing, William McKennan, D. S .. Wilson, A. T. Baird, N. Ewing, R. R. Reed, James Black, Marcus Wishart,, David Reed, Thomas C. Lazear, Marcus W. Acheson, J. M. Gallagher, S .. J. Wilson, J. S. Morrison, A. P. Morrison, W. A. Childs, and O. H. Miller.
This call was also indorsed thus :-
The undersigned approve the object of the proposed convention, and. unite in the above call.
J. W. SCOTT, President Washington College .. D. H. RIDDLE, \ Profs. Canonsburg. WM. SMITH,
In pursuance of this call, a large majority of the alumni of both colleges met in the lecture-room of the First Presbyterian church, Pittsburg, on September 27, 1864, and organized by appointing the Rev. Dr. Chester, of Philadelphia (not an alumnus of either college) President, Thomas Ewing, Esq., Aaron Williams, D. D., and Samuel J. Wilson, D. D., Secretaries.
The meeting was opened with prayer. .
A list of the alumni of both colleges was then taken and sixty-
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HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY.
nine alumni of Jefferson College, and sixty-six of Washington Col- lege were enrolled.
On motion of Rev. James I. Brownson, the following gentle- men were appointed a committee on business, viz: John K. Ew- ing, W. McKennan, Esq., and S. J. Wilson, D. D., of Washington College, and Loyal Young, D. D., D. McKenney, D. D., and R. P. Nevin, Esq., of Jefferson College.
Papers being now called for, Rev. F. J. Collier, on behalf of Jef- ferson College, and A. W. Acheson, Esq., on behalf of Washington College, read extended papers proposing plans of union, which were reported to the Business Committee.
While the Business Commitee were preparing their report a friendly discussion on the whole subject of the proposed union took place, in which Rev. Watson Hughes, J. E. Caruthers, F. J. Collier, John M. Smith, Geo. Frazer, John H. Ewing, Esq., James I. Brownson, and others took part. The report was read the same evening at an ad- journed meeting, and action on the same continued until the next day.
The report of the committee read as follows :-
We, Alumni of Washington and Jefferson colleges, seriously wishing to promote the best interest of education and religion, having met in conven- tion and discussed in a candid and fraternal spirit the proposed union of the colleges, do express our views as follows :-
1. Resolved, That we see the hand of Providence pointing to the union of the two ancient colleges whose sons we are, and fixing the present as the time for the happy consummation by such evident facts as these : The great and constantly increasing number of literary institutions in the land ; the urgent need in Western Pennsylvania of an eminently influential and richly endowed college ; the desire for a union of Jefferson and Washington colleges, soon to be made more apparent by the completion of a connected railway; the very unsatisfactory condition of their antiquated buildings ; the reduced number of students, partly the result of our national troubles : the inadequacy of the old salaries to meet the demands of the times and afford to professors a competent support ; the difficulty of obtaining aid for either institution in its separate existence; the several offers made by liberal and reliable men to furnish large amount of funds in case a union is effected, and depending also upon that event, the possible donating by our legislature of a valuable grant of land given by Congress to the State for the advancement of agricultural knowledge.
2. Resolved, That inasmuch as the fund which constitutes the present endowments of Washington and Jefferson colleges, were contributed for educational purposes by men of various religious creeds, justice urgently demands, and in our opinion also very deservedly, and in case of a union, the institution, which being thoroughly Protestant and evangelical in its govern- ment and teachings, should not be under the control of any ecclesiastical body.
3. Resolved, That the following be the plan of union recommended for the adoption of the trustees of the two colleges :---
The two institutions shall be united and consolidated under the name of Washington and Jefferson College. All the real estate, college property, and funds of each of said colleges, shall be transferred to, and be invested in, the united institution.
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HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY.
The scholarships heretofore granted by either of said colleges shall be respected and their terms fulfilled by the united colleges.
The Board of Trustees of the united college shall consist of twenty-one members-to be elected as follows, to wit : The present Board of Jefferson College shall choose ten persons, and the present Board of Washington Col- lege shall choose ten persons, and the said twenty persons so chosen shall constitute the Board of Trustees of the united college, and shall have power to fill the remaining vacancy, and vacancies thereafter arising from death, resignation, or otherwise, shall be filled by the said Board.
The control and management of the property and funds of the united college, as well as the election of the President and professors, and the conducting of its business generally, shall be vested in and exercised by the Board of Trustees.
At the place where the college proper shall not be located, that is to say, at either Washington or Canonsburg, there shall be established as an inte- gral part of the united college, two distinct and separate departments- one to be called the Preparatory Department and the other the Scientific Department of the college. The Preparatory Department to be of a high grade, and of such a character as to fully prepare students for admission into the Freshman Class of the college proper, or to the Scientific Depart- ment. The Scientific Department to afford such instructions in the higher English branches-natural sciences, belleslettres, mathematics, civil and military engineering, mechanic arts, and modern languages as may be necessary to fully prepare yonng men seeking education therein, for the degree of S.B. shall be conferred upon the graduates of said department. If practicable, an Agricultural Department shall be connected with the Scientific Department.
To overcome a difficulty which seems to be otherwise insuperable, the location of the college proper shall be determined by lot, in a mode to be agreed upon by the Boards of the two colleges. Before the lot shall be cast appropriate legislation shall be procured to effect the consolidation of the colleges agreeably to the foregoing plans, as a fundamental basis of the union, and providing that as said lot shall result the location of the college shall be finally and irrevocably fixed and determined; and thereupon the real estate, property, and funds of each of said colleges shall be ipso facto vested in and become the property of the united college; the charters of the said colleges shall cease and determine, and their respected existence be merged in the united institution.
4. Resolved, That in case our hopes are realized, commodious buildings shall be erected in the best style of modern architecture and furnished with everything essential to the comfort and convenience of the professors and students.
5. Resolved, That on account of their eminent ability, their exemplary demeanor, their faithful services, and their self-sacrificing spirit, the Presi- dent and Professors now installed in the colleges which we represent, are entitled to our highest admiration aud esteem, and we will accordingly take pleasure in mentioning their superior claims and commending them to the favorable consideration of the new Board of Trustees, whose duty it will be to reorganize and enlarge the present faculties in the event of a union being consummated.
6. Resolved, That we pledge as individuals our earnest and constant efforts to furnish money and appliances to the united college, and to per- suade young men to seek instruction there in preference to any other institution.
7. Resolved, That a committee be appointed to make known our pro-
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HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY.
ceedings to the Board of Trustees of Jefferson and Washington colleges, and to urge them to convene at an early day, and take action concerning the matter which we so unanimously recommend, stating as a strong reason for promptness, the determination on the part of Dr. Beatty to withdraw and not renew his most generous and long-standing offer of $50,000, if there is no immediate prospect of a union; and in case said Boards adopt the recommendations of this convention that the said convention be further empowered to co-operate with the said Boards in securing such legislative action as may be requisite to carry into effect the plan proposed, and also to secure for the Agricultural Department a liberal proportion of the Con- gressional grant of lands.
8. Resolved, That iu the judgment of this meeting it is extremely desir- able that the continued co-operations of all the religious denominations here- tofore patronizing these colleges should be secured, and it is therefore recommended to the old Boards, in selecting the persons who shall consti- tute the new Board, to give a due representation to such of the ecclesiasti- cal denominations as are now represented in the Board.
The report and resolutions were UNANIMOUSLY adopted, and, in accordance with the seventh resolution, the Rev. Dr. Jacobus and the Business Committee, who drafted the report and resolution, were appointed to make known the proceedings to the trustees of both col- leges.
Accordingly, on the 4th of March, 1865, an act of incorporation was passed by the legislature uniting these colleges, with the com- bined name of both. By this arrangement the senior, junior, and sophomore classes were placed at Canonsburg, and the freshmen class with the scientific and preparatory department at Washington. This experiment after a trial of four years failed, because the ma- chinery was entirely too complicated. The people were losing confidence in its usefulness, and the public mind was discussing the question of a united and consolidated college. The trustees of both institutions, feeling the responsibility which rested upon them as the custodians of private and public funds, as well as of the church, commenced taking the preparatory steps for a consolidated college. Accordingly, on April 4, 1866, the Rev. Jonathan Edwards, D. D., was formally inaugurated as the first President of the united college, with an able corps of learned professors. But even this dividing of interests-this separation of faculty and students-did not answer the desired end, because it produced alienation, jealousy, and even distrust, and the trustees felt the necessity of an absolute consolida- tion of both colleges at the same location. A committee of five was appointed to consider and report upon the whole subject, Washing- ton and Canonsburg being represented by one member.
To aid the trustees and their committee in the momentous ques- tion before them, the alumini of Jefferson College hield a meeting at Canonsburg, August 5, 1868, at which a series of resolutions were adopted urging immediate consolidation as necessary to the success of the college, and pledging the acquiescence of the alumini in whatever decision the Board of Trustees might reach relative to the location of the college.
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HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY.
The Committee of the trustces in due time made a report recom- mending a modification of the charter, which amendment was care- fully prepared by Hon. James P. Sterritt (an alumnus of Jefferson College), chairman of the Committee. On this subject we shall give the words of a committee who addressed the citizens of this county on this important question :-
" The legislature, in passing it, February 26, 1869, made only a single change, which limited the competition for the site of the college to the State of Pennsylvania. The Board of Trustees, in adopting this amend- ment before its enactment by the legislature, and then in accepting it after its passage, were unanimous, with the exception of one member, who resides at Pittsburg-all the members residing at Canonsburg and Wash- ington voting for it."
This act authorized the trustees, by a vote of not less than two- thirds of the members present, to fix the location of the consoli- dated college at Canonsburg, Washington, or some other place within this commonwealth. If the trustees did not determine its permanent location within sixty days after the passage of this act, then the governor was to appoint five commissioners, four of whom should agree. The trustees were also authorized to place as much of the property as was necessary in the hands of seven local trustees, to the place losing the college, as would be neces- sary to establish an academy, normal school, or institution of a lower grade than a college.
April 20, 1869. The trustees, in accordance with the act, met this day in Pittsburg to determine the question, twenty-seven mem- bers being present out of the thirty trustees. Although several places wished its locality, the question was finally limited to Canons- burg and Washington-the former offering a subscription of sixteen thousand dollars, and the latter fifty thousand. On the first ballot (one member having withdrawn) sixteen voted for Washington, and ten for Canonsburg. On the eighth ballot it was decided by a two- third vote in favor of Washington-thus finally settling the ques- tion, and consolidating Jefferson and Canonsburg Colleges as one college.
From the furnished report of each college, at the time the union was perfected, we find the endowment fund of each college was as follows :-
Jefferson College Endowment.
.James O'Hara's mortgage,
$60,000.00
James Robb's mortgage,
5,000.00
Stock in Bank of Pittsburg,
850.00
Stock in Canonsburg Saving Bank,
820.00
In Treasury,
400.00
$67,070.00
Liabilities of Jefferson College,
10,296.79
1 Real Assets,
. · ·
.
56,773.21
.
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HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY.
Washington College Endowment.
Five-twenty bonds, U. S., .
$25,150.00
Premium on same, 5 per cent., 1,257.50
Interest for four months,
1,056.25
Seven-thirty bonds, U. S.,
3,600.00
Interest accrued on same,
32.40
J. C. Ramsey's note, secured by mortgage and interest, .
5,450.00
W. S. & H. Woodruff's note,
1,250.00
Sundry notes, with interest,
$37,796.15 6,124.50
$43,920.65
By a late report, it appears that the endowment fund of the con- solidated college is as follows :-
Jefferson College fund,
·
$56,099.29
Washington College fund, .
42,698.33 ·
Rev. Dr. C. C. Beatty, donation,
. 50,000.09
Citizens' subscription of Washington,
50,000.00
$198,797.62
From a gentleman acquainted with both endowment funds, I learn that the interest accruing on both is about equal, the one being invested generally in bonds and mortgages upon real estate, while the other is in government securities, which, although differ- ing in the amount of the capital, say $12,852, yet the interest is square.
The trustees of Canonsburg and some of its citizens, dissatisfied with the recent action of the Board of Trustees, and believing that the act consolidating the union of Washington and Jefferson colleges as invalid and unconstitutional, not only sued out an injunction from the Circuit Court, but brought suits in the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, for the result of which we refer to the following pages :-
At the September term of the Circuit Court of the United States, held at Williamsport, Pa., in the year 1869, Judge McCandless granted a preliminary injunction, restraining the Board of Trustees from removing the collegiate department of Washington and Jeffer- son colleges from Canonsburg to Washington, concurrently with the bill. In the Circuit Court the following bills in equity were filed by the friends of Canonsburg in the Supreme Court of the Western District of Pennsylvania, viz: The Trustees of Jefferson College vs. Washington and Jefferson College ; David C. Houston and others vs. Washington and Jefferson College ; Francis J. Col- lier and others vs. Washington and Jefferson College. The case was fully prepared by James Veech. George Shiras, Jr., and Boyd Crumrine, Esqs., for plaintiffs, and M. W. Acheson and D. S. Wil- son, Esqs., for defendants. The oral argument, however, before
161
HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY.
the Supreme Court was opened by George Shiras, Jr., for the com- plainants, who was followed by M. W. Acheson and D. S. Wilson, Esqrs., for the respondents, and James Veech, Esq., closed the argu- ment for the complainant.
The following arguments were presented by the counsel for com- plainant.
1. Canonsburg is the place for the performance of the scholarship con- tracts.
2. The legislature could not relieve the corporation from the full and complete performance of the scholarship contracts at Canonsburg. The power reserved in the charter of 1802 does not authorize a repeal of the charter nor any alteration of it, other than as the powers and privileges conferred upon the trustees.
3. Legislation could not be accepted by the trustees, which infringes upon their contracts.
4. The act of 1869 is invalid, because it does not aver injurious results from the act of 1865, and does not protect the right of corporators, and delegates the power to fix the location of the college.
5. The assent of donors (scholarship holders) is demanded to authorize any change in the charter of Jefferson College.
6. The act of 1865 was a contract between the trustees of the two col- leges, or at least evidences such contract, and the agreement thus evidenced is violated by the act of 1869.
To this the respondents replied by giving the following statement of facts :-
That Jefferson and Washington colleges were separate institutions of' learning, located respectively at Canonsburg and Washington, both in the county of Washington, and seven miles distant from each other. Jeffer- son College was incorporated by an act of Assembly passed January 15,. 1802, and Washington College by an act passed March 28, 1806.
On the 4th of March, 1865, the legislature passed an act to unite the colleges and erect them into one corporation under the name of Washing -. ton and Jefferson College, and providing for the instruction of the senior; junior, and sophomore classes at Canonsburg, and the other class and. department at Washington.
On the 26th day of February 1869, a supplement to the act was passed, providing for the concentration of all the departments of the college at one. place, and under this act they were located at Washington.
The trustees of Jefferson College and Francis J. Collier, and others, in their several bills, assail the act of February 26th, 1869, as unconstitutional, and David C. Houston and others in their bill assail both the acts of March 4th, 1865, and February 26th, 1869, as invalid and unconstitutional.
Messrs. M. W. Acheson and D. S. Wilson submitted arguments to the court tending to establish the following proposition :-
1. That the corporation, the trustees of Jefferson College in Canonsburg,. in the county of Washington, was, by the very terms and nature of its poli -. tical existence, subject to dissolution by a surrender of its corporate fran -- chises.
2. That by the acceptance of the act of March 4th, 1865, Jefferson Col -- lege surrendered its corporate franchises, and therefore ceased to exist ..
11
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HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY.
3. That the general and unconditional power to alter its charter is dis- tinetly reserved by the legislature, and is an integral part of the contract between the State and the corporation.
4. That this power may be exercised whenever the legislature deems it expedient to do so, and such exercise of it does not impair the contract between the State and the corporation.
5. That the rights of the plaintiffs, growing out of their contracts with Jefferson College are subject to the power of the legislature to alter the charter of that institution.
6. That the legislature was therefore constitutionally competent to trans- fer the location of Jefferson College to Washington, and by consequence to fix that as the place of performance of the plaintiffs' contract.
7. That in any aspect of the case the complainants are not entitled to the remedy by any injunction.
At the opening of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, in Phila- delphia, on January 3d, 1870, Chief Justice Thompson delivered the unanimous opinion of the Supreme Court of the State in the several cases involving the right of the Board of Trustees to con- solidate all the departments of the Institution at this place.
DAVID C. HOUSTON, JOHN JOHNSON, et al. vS. - WASHINGTON AND JEFFERSON COLLEGE.
THE TRUSTEES OF JEFFERSON COLLEGE IN CANONSBURG vs. WASHINGTON AND JEFFERSON COLLEGE.
FRANCIS J. COLLIER, WM. JEFFREY, et al. vs.
WASHINGTON AND JEFFERSON COLLEGE.
The unanimous opinion of the court was delivered at Philadelphia, Janu- ary 3, 1870, by Chief Justice Thompson.
These three bills, relating to the same institution, and involving con- siderations common to all, were argued together, and as they can be most satisfactorily disposed of together, we now propose to do so.
The first of them raises the question whether the contracts of scholar- ship between the complainants and others, and Jefferson College, did not interpose a constitutional barrier to any legislative grant of authority to the trustees of the college to surrender its former charter and accept a new one, by which the college was eventually removed from Canonsburg to Washington, in the same county.
The second is by the Trustees of Jefferson College, in which the same question is raised by them ; and
The third is by some of the members of the Board of Trustees of Wash- ington and Jefferson College, in which they complain of the defendant, that its trustees are, under pretence of authority conferred by the act of 26th February, 1869, about to violate the provisions of the act of 4th March, 1865, by which Washington and Jefferson College was authorized to pro- vide for the instruction of the Senior, Junior, and Sophomore Classes at Canonsburg, and students in the Freshman Class and in the Scientific and Preparatory Department, and the Department of Agriculture and Art in Washington, and, in disregard thereof, about to unite all the classes at Washington, and to remove thither the library and other movable pro-
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HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY.
perty of the college, and to sell or dispose of its real estate, charging that such intended acts and doings would be, and are, in contravention of the rights, duties, and obligations conferred by the act of 4th March, 1865, referred to.
Each of these cases was set down, and all were heard together, on bills and answers. The argument took a wide range, and counsel had an atten- tive hearing, such as the magnitude of the seeming consequences of a de- termination of the controversy demanded. The questions presented, how- ever, were not numerous or complex ; and notwithstanding the possible discontent which may for a time follow the displacement of an ancient and cherished institution of learning, if the law require it, we must so de- termine. We do not make the law.
A question to be answered in passing on the merits of the first of these bills is, could Jefferson College surrender its charter, with the consent of the legislature, and accept a new one consolidating it with another insti- tution or college of the same nature and kind, without the consent of the holders of scholarships in the college ?
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